Self-inflator for raising sunken vessels



. V T. P. EDSON.

SELF INFLATOR FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS, &c.,

No. 48,539. Patented July 4, 1865.

Was" 714% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TEMPEBANCE P. EDSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, ILLINOIS.

SELF-INFLATOR FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS, 80c.

, Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,539, dated July 4, 1865.

To all whom t't may concern:

Be it known that I, TEMrEaANoE P. EDSON, of Cambridge, in Henry county, in the State of l1linois,haveinvented a new and Improved Mode for Raising Vessels or other Substances or Preventing them from Sinking and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon.

I distinguish it by the name self-inflator. This can be. made in any shapemost practicable for the thing to which it is applied, When made in the form of a box, as shown at No; 1 in the drawings, the top and bottom may be of wood or of some solid material; or, it more convenient, the whole can be made of flexible material. It is expanded by means of springs. It will be found most convenient to place them inside the inflator but the same results can be brought about by their being attached to the outer side of it. The number of springs required depend 'upon its size and the kind of springsused. There must be a hole or opening,,B, into the interior of the inflator sufficiently large to .allowit immediately to fill with atmospheric air as it is forced open by means of the springs. An india-rubber tube, 0, applied to this hole, must correspond in length to the depth of water to which it is plunged, the other end of the tubeto pass through a small body resting on the surface of the water. The inflator must be drawn endwise into the water in its collapsed state, as shown by No. 2, with the air-tube a leading to it under water.

The number of inflators to be used must correspond to the weight to be raised. The-manner of attaching them'can be varied according to circumstances. 'Vessels going to sea can be provided with a sutficient number permanently attached to the inside or outside of a ship, an d when allowed to fill with air will prevent the ship from sinkingin case it springs a leak; and they can be so arranged that by slipping a bolt they will all expand at once; or, as the inflators, when compressed, are very portable,

. they can be carried in a box and applied, when needed, either outside or inside of the vessel. No. 1 represents one inv its expanded state at tached to a vessel or someot-her substance. It applies to any sinking or sunken body or sub stance. It may serve as a lite-preserver or a harbor, a channel, or a river clearer ot snags, lumber, or other impediments.

By turning a button, slipping a bolt, or 

